The Art of StoryTelling
by Jessenia
Summary: Yaoi. TBC. A war between the three worlds has the team fighting for their lives, and the lives of millions.
1. Default Chapter

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THE ART OF STORY TELLING:

Jessenia  
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"Gather. Gather." The voice echoed through the woods like a soft whisper of wind. This was the call of the story teller, Amatsu. The ancient kitsune teller who was older than life itself and told the greatest stories in all the Makai. Children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, murderers, kings, thieves, everyone would gather as equals around the enchanting being to hear the latest tale of long ago. 

But tonight, hearing his calls, few came. Few were left alive, or out of hiding, and almost none had time to hear the old youko speak, so involved were they in the disasters which they had caused and the destruction which they were forcing upon the three worlds. 

Of the few who came, there were two young youkai, one, a girl with short red hair and dazzling blue/green eyes, the other, her companion, a boy, short brown hair and green eyes. They sat in the glen, putting their weapons aside and waiting for the tale to begin. There were only four other people in the glen with the old teller. The talk hushed and then stopped as Amatsu began.

"My children. Tonight my story is more of a test than a tale. I shall begin with the breath that I inhale, and cast a spell upon you all, using my words to take us to a place where dreams of ningen, beast and youkai dwell, and our nightmares patiently await our return in the night. Now I shall present to you a story, happening now, at this very moment, in a place that you refuse to know. I present to you a tale that will tell itself ..."  
  
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standard disclaimers apply.


	2. Outcast

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CHAPTER 1: OUTCAST  
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"K'so. It's like they took all the S-class youkai and left us with the God damned B-class bone-brains!!" Yuusuke growled and kicked a barrel containing something that was probably useful to the war they were fighting. A tall red haired man stepped forward and placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Yuusuke, you know that your troops are at the disadvantage because they have not fought in a long time. You mustn't make them believe themselves worthless, or they will be so." 

"And what about you, Kurama?" Yuusuke glowered at his friend. They had been through this before. "Why don't you and Hiei help us?" He knew the answer. He'd heard it a thousand times and although he wished that his friends would fight for justice rather than where they belonged, or just staying neutral, as they were doing, he completely understood his friends' plight.

"We are youkai, Yuusuke." Kurama's voice took on a serious tone, almost self-reproachful. It was a tone Yuusuke rarely heard from the red head. "We are youkai, and we will be of no use on the field. We will be sighted and ambushed as traitors and despite our strength, we'd be dead within a half-hour of fighting." It was true. And it wasn't as if their remaining neutral meant that they were completely detached from the war. Both Hiei and Kurama had ushered ningens to sanctuary and helped in the Reikai.

"Do you know how everyone is?" Yuusuke asked, changing the subject. A curious expression crossed Kurama's face before it settled into a neutral expression, and he passed on the information to the leader who was nearing wits' end.

"Keiko is with Shizuro and Yukina. They are in a safe place, along with my family. It is likely that they will not be touched by this war. I can promise you that, Yuusuke." Kurama added seeing concern enter his leader's face. "Hiei is currently watching the land there." Yuusuke's expression turned incredulous.

"THAT WILL ATTRACT ATTENTION TO THEM!! What would a YOUKAI being doing parading about a seemingly harmless little place?"

"They do not know us for what we are, Yuusuke. They see a youkai, they see a friend and fellow warrior. They see a ningen or a being from the Reikai, they see an enemy and nothing more. It is the compensation rewarded us for remaining anonymous in our support of the Ningen and Reikai plight."

"Gomen ne, Kurama. I didn't mean to bite at you like that, it's just that I'm getting so damned tired. This stupid war is running me ragged." Kurama smiled sympathetically.

"At least you have Kuwabara heading some of your forces." Before Yuusuke could respond to his friend there was a flash of black and Hiei appeared at Kurama's side. "Ah. Hiei, have you been relieved already?" The fire demon nodded and Kurama smiled.

"I have news from Koenma. Kurama, he wants to speak to you." Kurama frowned. 

"Would you like to tell me how I can contact him?" Kurama asked, becoming a bit more serious than usual. Yuusuke smirked, he had learned to read the youko and it was quite clear that Kurama did not appreciate the demi-God's escape to the Reikai, which had thus far remained untouched by the war thanks to the attempts Yuusuke and the others were making in the Makai, although it was threatened and thoroughly involved nonetheless. Hiei looked at the red head thoughtfully, then nodded.

"He said that you should go to your room." Kurama looked startled, then nodded and ran up the stairs of the decaying castle that was serving as their base camp.

When Kurama reached his room and opened the door he came face to face with Koenma and he nodded his head and shut the door. Since there was only one chair in his very tiny area, Kurama offered it to the little God and sat on the bed.

"Kurama. I will jump directly to the point. I am sending you away from the camp. You are not to come near it unless it is absolutely necessary. As an S-class youkai you should have no problems earning the respect of the opposing ranks." Kurama went pale and looked confused. 

"You're sending me away? Against my will, to fight for the opposing ranks!?! Koenma that makes no sense at all and it will probably get a lot of people killed!" Koenma shook his head.

"You did not allow me to finish." Koenma looked very serious and very drained, and Kurama knew that even though Koenma had run away, he was still working hard towards a seemingly impossible peace. "I'm sending you to stay in a town called Banshou. It is occupied by kitsune, and kitsune alone. You will stay with them. They are well acquainted with the legends of Youko Kurama, I think it would go over better if, from now on, you stayed in your youko or kitsune form." Kurama frowned, he was being kicked out, and denied the chance to help his friends. 

Koenma handed the redhead a small vile. "This is something I had cooked up for you. It will give you the power to switch forms freely from now on. From youko to ningen or to kitsune, whenever you want. Take it now, in front of me." 

Kurama couldn't believe that Koenma was so untrusting of him. He clasped the vile in his hand and looked once, pleadingly, at the little God which had thrown trouble his way time and time again, and had earned the badge of a friend. If he took this, there was no way that he could turn down the "mission". It would be a sign of acceptance. Well, what else was there to do with an order like this but to accept it.

Kurama took the vile.

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Hiei looked up as his lover came down the stairs and did a double take. Kurama was in his youko form!! What the fuck was going on? Kurama looked up at Hiei then Yuusuke, and turned his face away, walking towards the door. Hiei was about to go after him when Koenma appeared.

"Urameshi. Kurama is leaving. He will not return until he is ready. Leave him be. Hiei, you are to join the traveling group of youkai that are stopping at the enemy's camp in this area tonight. You will operate as a messenger and will be our soul contact to Kurama. It is very important that you maintain contact, he is a key player." Hiei frowned. Like HELL he was going to lose contact with his lover!! With a curt nod Hiei dashed out the door to say a proper good-bye to his fox. Something the youko had failed to do.  
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Jessenia: please let me know what you think. I am trying to hurry, but there has been so much work this year...Sorry minna.

standard disclaimers apply.


	3. The Messenger's Mission

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CHAPTER 2: THE MESSENGER'S MISSION  
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It had been one week since he'd seen Hiei. Two weeks since he'd seen Kurama, and that was the day that he'd left for that village. Yuusuke sighed and organized his commanders. In his heart he was thinking about Keiko and praying that she wouldn't die and he was hoping that his 'kaasan was safe along with Shiori and his friends' parentsand family. He was hoping that Kuwabara returned safely from the secret mission his troops had been assigned, and praying that Hiei brought back good news about Kurama, and that both were okay. 

For a few weeks after the youko had left, Yuusuke had been pissed off. He wanted nothing to do with Koenma or the Reikai and had almost stopped fighting, almost allowed the youkai to take both the Reikai and the Ningenkai. It was a pointless demonstration, aimed more to show Koenma that he still had control. In the end he'd come too close to losing the war altogether and couldn't tolerate it, so he had begun to fight back. Now he took his anger out on the youkai who dared to threaten his troops. And Sometimes his commanders as well.

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Hiei sat in a tree, observing the aftermath of a particularly nasty battle, as the wind toyed with the ashes of burned beast and man, and the rain put the fires out.

Yuusuke had at least enough sense to have only trusted friends and beings from the Reikai appointed to positions of authority, making it much easier to control the troops. But just because they were easier to control didn't necessarily mean they had good strategies in warfare. That was Yuusuke's greatest disadvantage. Up until two weeks ago, Kurama had acted as strategist, and they had done pretty well in their battles. With the youko gone, they relied solely on each commander's instinct, and in some cases, that was not saying much.

Since Hiei was forced to remain neutral, he could not have interfered in the slaughter even if he had gotten there in time. But he knew he would have anyway. He was a fighter. It was in his blood and he could only be around war for so long before he found himself in the midst of it. And he had anger to work off. He had been just about to visit Banshou, Kurama having made it there yesterday, and then Koenma had shown up....

The massacre lasted an hour, and once the enemy had left the site, all that was left were bodies and blood. The grass was dyed red. It always struck Hiei as odd, the way some youkai set themselves completely off guard and refused to even comprehend the obvious. Now the Southern Wood had fallen. It wasn't a terribly influential point that they had been trying to uphold, but it had been receiving a shipment of supplies, now all stolen during the massive attack.

Rolling his eyes, he zipped through the trees hoping to get back to Yuusuke by nightfall, hopefully before the ningen found out and went on another rampage.

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Yuusuke received the report of the Southern wood the same time Hiei hopped in the window. "DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?!?!" Hiei raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"I saw the tail-end of it." Yuusuke threw the map at his lieutenant's face and turned his back on Hiei.

"It was a complete waste. Why the hell were they so relaxed when they were so close to enemy territory?"

"The captain's map displayed inaccurate details . He had no idea of the lay of the enemy's land." Yuusuke whirled to look at the person who was standing in the doorway. Hiei snorted and perched on the table with his usual scowl on his face.

"What?" Yuusuke asked. "Kuwabara, how the hell do you know this?" The orange haired man shrugged and moved towards a chair. His face was solemn and his entire posture bore the subtle signs of defeat.

"I have my ways, Urameshi. When we finished our mission, I had this flash of what was happening over there and tried to get there before we lost too much, but I arrived pretty much after all the fires had burned out, if you catch my drift." Yuusuke frowned.

"Someone must have altered the maps." Kuwabara glanced quickly at Hiei. "We have an informant. Hiei what happened with Kurama?" The fire demon's scowl deepened and Kuwabara began to fear the news.

"Koenma has restricted our contact with him." 

"Why? To what? When do we get to speak to him?" Yuusuke had an idea by the severity of the scowl on the little youkai's face, but it seemed too much to believe.

"We don't." Hiei stood and glared at Yuusuke. "He is to be left alone. He spewed out some bullshit about changes in order to win the war and shit like that and then went off with Botan." He shifted his eyes to focus on Kuwabara. "He said he was busy." Speech over and done with, Hiei disappeared. Yuusuke slumped into a chair and looked out the window.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this." He muttered to himself.

"How we are going to do this you mean. If you recall it was never just Urameshi, it was the Urameshi Team. Besides, I, Kuwabara the man, am the only person who can really lead your armies!!!!!"

"Oh, go babble to Yukina."

"AII!!! YUKINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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.... "So, Kurama just goes and stays with those other youko? If he wanted to help out so much why couldn't he join one of the troops on the field?" Amatsu chuckled softly.

"Kurama is an honorable youko."

"I've heard all the stories about that youko, he's a thief."

"Yes, and never has there been a more confusing tale. But, nonetheless, you must understand me when I say that he was an honorable youko. Even though he hated leaving, he trusted Koenma enough to follow his orders." 

"I don't believe that." The brown haired youkai reached over and touched her shoulder.

"Shhh. You are a thief too, are you not, Sakura? I know why you really enjoy youko story-telling. Most of their tales pertain to that youko whom you admire so much."

"Shut up, Shiro. I have no respect for any youkai who supports the three worlds."

"Which is precisely why you can't stand to think of Kurama not being involved in the war." 

"Please. Please, Children. You will make me lose track of the story."

"This isn't a story! you're telling us about what happened in the past, the last time someone tried to pull a stunt like the one the chiefs are pulling!!"

"This is a story. Whatever you take away tonight, you can deal with however you choose to. Now settle down, as Kurama has settled, in Banshou...."

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Kurama looked up at the sky and frowned. It was easy to forget about the war in this place. Easy, and hard at the same time. Because although he found himself relaxing and enjoying the life that the youko led, he could never completely get the anger and frustration that he felt about being sent away from the war. He couldn't forget, but he couldn't understand either. 

Koenma wasn't afraid that Kurama would become an informant, but if that was not the reason, then what was? He frowned and rested his back against a tree. 

He missed Hiei. That was another thing that was driving him crazy. He had no way to know if his fire demon was still alive, or if his friends were okay. "KURAMA! Baka ne! Can't you keep up?" A small, black-haired youko male came huffing and puffing over the hill. Kurama smiled and couldn't help but chuckle. The youko smiled back. 

Kurama had been accepted into the village without hesitation. Banshou was a small town, populated solely by the youko followers of Inari. The sense of community and the wondrous atmosphere nurtured the very soul and Kurama couldn't help but love it there. He had also made instant friends with Meiji, a very stubborn and quiet youko who had not spoken a word to anyone, with the peculiar exception of Kurama, since an accident had claimed the lives of his family several years before. The two youko had gotten in the habit of patrolling the area, though the youko were remaining stubbornly neutral, Kurama couldn't sit away and do nothing. He trained every day with his closest friends, and patrolled when he could, never finding even the subtlest suggestion of enemy invasion. 

Every night, secretly, Kurama would go to the shrine of Inari and spend the night asking to be shown a sign, something that would tell him that his time in Banshou was not a complete waste. Though it never came, Kurama would still return and pray and make offerings, always hopeful.

"Come on, Meiji. You are walking too fast for me." He stated in a whine, and the black youko plopped to forest floor gasping in air, yet insisting that he would give Kurama a break if he was that tired. It was a game they played. 

Admittedly, life was enjoyable and Kurama was getting along well. But always there was that itching to get out and win that war, to fight. To be a part of something, despite the ridiculous restriction placed upon him because of his youko heritage... A youkai could stand up for what he believed in, but only if he was completely and utterly prepared to die.....or he had a lot of other youkai who were backing him.......Yes.......

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"This is ridiculous! They are boxing us into a corner. I want Michiro and Fuyutsuki to organize the forces. Position two groups to each direction which those ass-holes can approach us from. Double the patrols, get more healers down here. I don't care who, call the Priestesses if need be, but the wounded need to be healed now."

"Yuusuke."

"Not now, I'm really quite occupied. The ..."

"Yuusuke."

"What? Genkai, I'm in the middle of...." Yuusuke stopped and looked at his teacher for a moment, searching her serious expression for a hint of the news which would hit him. "What has happened?"

"I am sure that you are quite aware of the fact that there is a ring of enemy soldiers which are effectively moving to cut off any supplies and soldiers that mean to enter the area. I should not have to remind you that Kuwabara and his men, who have suffered losses after the battle at Byde, are in search of a safe-haven."

"I know that. But I don't have anyone to spare at the moment. When one of the troops hits their location, then we can rescue their survivors but until then...."

"If you wait until then, his men die, you lose their team." Yuusuke paused, looking back over his shoulder and feeling a bit of confusion as he focused on the fire-demon, leaning non-chalantely against a wall by the stairs.

"You have a better suggestion, Hiei?"

"Hai. Give me ten men, of my choosing, and I can get them back by tomorrow night." That caught his attention. He turned and found that he could not quell a wave of excitement as it hit him squarely in the gut. With Hiei taking over some of the troops, they just might pull through this one.

"I thought you said you couldn't go, because you could get killed."

"I could get killed anyway. Kurama was thinking of doing it before..." That was it then, was it? Hiei flashed Yuusuke a toothy grin." If it is the difference between winning and losing...." Yuusuke smiled and couldn't stop nodding, or calm the grin from spreading across his face.

"Good. Let's plan the attack."

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He felt something hot slide down his cheek, burning the skin with its warmth. He was too tired to deal with this, he wanted sleep and that was all that his mind would tolerate thinking about. Lazily, lethargically, he raised a hand and slid it over the hot skin of his cheek, when he pulled it back his hand was red. "Aa. You got me did you? It is only fair. A small wound in exchange for a victory. I can deal with the cost." He felt himself slumping and knew, suddenly with frightening clarity, that it wasn't just the wound on his head, that he was losing blood, and losing it fast. There was not enough time for him to review when the wound could have happened, he slumped against the tree and felt his energy flow out of his body....

From out of the darkness, a form emerged, a dark cloak shielding any distinguishing features, hiding face and body. Several figures were emerging as this one had, from the bushes and forested area, all in dark cloaks, hoods up and faces masked. Each stepping with graceful ease to the sides of the soldiers, ministering to the wounds. Kuwabara awoke to the soft hum of female voices and felt relief overtake his body with such force that he passed out again.

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Kurama looked-up at the moon. It hung, full and heavy and impossibly low to the ground. He felt as if it might crush him. He was sitting on the hill, leaning back and enjoying the night. There was a faint rustle of grass, and Kurama smiled to himself. "You are back." He stated, quietly, to the wind.

"I am. Your friend was picked-up not too far from here." Kurama's eyebrow rose.

"The Priestesses?"

"I am certain of it." Kurama snorted.

"In the Ningenkai, they had the Red Cross. In the Makai, we have a bunch of eccentric ladies who clad themselves in black and ride about on horse back." Meiji did not respond. He was never certain of how to react to Kurama's sarcastic memories of his past. He found that a sustained silence would usually snap the youko out of his reverie. Conversation just prolonged the other man's torture.

"Are you certain you want to do this." Kurama took a deep breath, knowing the answer, but wanting to be certain. He opened his eyes and took another look a the moon. One moon, looming above them in the sky.

"They will follow me. And I will lead them. And together, we can be something." Meiji chuckled.

"Don't ever become a poet, okay Kurama?" The silver youko snorted, and they spent the night in lighter conversation.

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Yuusuke flopped down on the bed, exhausted. Hiei had returned with Kuwabara and the surviving soldiers. Yuusuke had fought a battle and barely won it. He felt as if he were in hell. There had been a series of absolutely terrible skirmishes in which his men had just been butchered. And here he was, barely able to keep himself awake. He felt his eyes close, and promised himself he would open them in just one moment.

He fell asleep frowning.

When Yuusuke awoke, it was to a gentle shaking. And when he opened his eyes, it was only to focus on the anxious face of Genkai. He wanted to groan, swear, do something drastic because this could only mean one thing, and it wasn't going to make him smile. Instead, he sat up, and followed the old woman downstairs.

"I thought it was of significant importance to have you witness something." Genkai said, as she summoned a spell, which allowed them to view the enemy's encampment at the Southern Ridge, close the Wood where the massacre which Hiei had witnessed took place. The Ridge was not so much a ridge as a giant gully, the youkai who had named it had not understood geography too well. It was a flat expanse of land, surrounded by steep, smooth hills on all sides. The Wood was just above it, up one of the smooth hills. The enemy had situated themselves on the flat area. Yuusuke took a moment to curse their cocky attitude before noticing the hooded figure on horse-back, making its way through the rows of tents.

"Who is that?" He asked, not quite awake enough to realize that the very identity of that person was the significant factor that had made Genkai wake him. No one answered. No one knew. As he watched, the figure rode up the hill steadily. Genkai followed the rider with the spell. It, for Yuusuke could not tell if it was male or female, rode into the woods, and removed the hood. Yuusuke swore very loudly, and he could hear his sentiments echoed throughout the room.

"I thought they were NEUTRAL Goddamit!! How the Fuck are we gonna win now?!" The only one who did not speak was Hiei, he watched with cold eyes as the black-haired youko rode his black horse through the forest.

"Everyone shut-UP!!" Yuusuke hollered, he looked at Genkai severely. "Do you know what he was doing before you woke me?" She smirked and shook her head. Then she opened her mouth as if to speak, but before she uttered a word, Hiei's low voice stopped the panic that had been filling the room a moment earlier.

"You should not be so quick to judge." Yuusuke had a retort ready, and was just about to belt it out, when he saw what Hiei had seen, and what had prompted that statement. The black-haired youko rode-up to a cavalry of dozens of youko ready and waiting. 

He forgot what he had wanted to say, and gaped.

The battle was quick and brilliant. They watched as the youko rode their horses through the encampment, surrounding the men who ran out of their tents. Half-way through, Hiei found that there was something eerily familiar about the strategy. "It's the same as the enemy's attack at the Southern Ridge...Someone is duplicating the battle." Yuusuke frowned and looked closely at the youko horde, some had left their horses in order to fight their foe face-to-face. 

"Then that means the mastermind of all this is gonna be riding over that hill in a few moments." He had remembered that part of the attack. The enemy had slaughtered the entire camp, had left with zero wounded, and Yuusuke, when Genkai showed him the Seeing, had been able to watch the mastermind of it all ride out on horseback and personally butcher the commander. He leaned in just a little, anxious to look his new ally in the eye. 

Everyone was just a little surprised when Kurama came racing over the hill. He was clothed, like the other youko in a green cloak, the hood was pulled back and his silver hair flew wild about him and he raised a sword and sliced the head off of the fleeing commander. They watched as the youko raced down the hill and joined the others, picking up a torch and throwing it onto a tent. Yuusuke closed his eyes, sighing in both relief and fear. He was worried about his friend. He listened to the reactions the people in the room had, refusing to open his eyes, lost in the relief and the gratitude and the simple fear. Kurama had looked ruthless. Had been ruthless. And yet it was the attitude he himself had to adapt in order to put-up enough of a fight to keep his world alive.

The noised dwindled, then stopped and he could hear the contained excitement as everyone rejoiced at this, their most recent victory, and most potent. 

"He's giving you a message." Hiei stated, as the room cleared and Genkai went up to her room to rest.

"No, it was a message to the enemy." Yuusuke sat down, trying to get his bearings.

"And to you. He used the same strategy not because he was lazy, or because it was any good. It was brutal and savage. But he wanted to prove to you that it wasn't your fault. Any man would have reacted the same way." Yuusuke sat back and closed his eyes. He had always felt secretly responsible for the Ridge disaster. He should have taught his men better, or done something to help them in such a drastic situation. "But did you notice the difference between the two battles?" Hiei asked, quietly. Yuusuke sighed and opened his eyes. Focusing on Hiei. "Your commander stayed with his men to the end." Hiei left the room and Yuusuke smiled a little, for the first time allowing himself to hope. 

Kurama was always so goddamned subtle.

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TBC

Seidaku: C&C please! I would really, really appreciate some!!


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